Every few years an idea comes along that changes the way we look at the world of business. Heartland is a book that encapsulates such an idea.

Old models of competitiveness are nearing exhaustion. Few firms are genuinely global, almost all are still tied to their home market. Most firms are increasingly alike, competing on the same grounds and with the same technology. Talented employees are in short supply and ever more fickle. Margins are under gathering pressure and global revenue growth is suffering its first serious check in ten years. The battle to differentiate has never been greater and the ideas for how to do so never in shorter supply. The need for a new model to take firms to the next stage of evolution is now acute.

This book proposes a new model that can transform the national firm into a global powerhouse, a competitive Heartland.

"This is a terrific book and the best I have read on the subject. Scott covers the economics and management issues in professional services with great authority and insight." Peter Doyle, Professor of Marketing, Warwick Business School
"What I find generally so praiseworthy is the balance of theory and practical application that runs throughout the book. Clearly, Mark Scott is someone well versed in the whole range of management sciences, yet able to ground this perspective in the world of real experience. This book accomplishes this in a natural, coherent and very readable way." John Zweig, CEO Specialist Communications Businesses, WPP Group USA Inc.
Spanning a diverse range of activities from accountancy to marketing communications, the professional services industry now accounts for up to 170f employment in the Western economies and had worldwide revenues in 1999 of around $800 billion. It is continuing to experience one of the most spectacular growth rates of any Western-dominated industry and is progressively cornering an ever larger share of industrial value added.
Yet, it remains one of the most unanalysed and undocumented areas of business acitivity. It has been subjected to little scrutiny and received minimal attention from the capital markets. This book aims to change all that!
The Professional Services Firm is intended for three key audiences:
* managers and owners of professional services firms who want to understand the strategic options they face and how to improve their financial performance.
* investors who want to understand how they can exploit the largely untapped and misunderstood opportunity the industry holds.
* managers inindustrial and service sectors who want to understand how to emulate the two critical skills mastered by PSFs - hiring, developing and retaining the best intellectual talent available and exploiting collective knowledge to achieve differentiation and to-die-for margins.
This seminal book provides not only the first real insight into the structure, strategy and economics of this huge and prosperous industry but also an excellent guide to understanding the challenges and opportunities it faces. Mark C. Scott's analysis of the professional services industry is an indispensible guide for anyone involved in these types of companies wishing to maximize performance and profitability.

Job Spec: Construction of Cathedral in Chartres, North West France Dimensions: 34m high, 130m long Materials: 500,000 tonnes of limestone, 176 stained glass windows Style: Gothic Time Frame: 30 years Confronted with this project would you screw it up and bin it? Probably. Why? Because the task is too enormous? Because the goal is too hard to achieve? Because you could not get the people in your organization to buy into the idea? But, wouldn't it be fabulous if you could achieve this, or its equivalent, in your place of business. How then could the construction of Chartres cathedral be achieved? Individuals working on a largely voluntary basis hauled and hammered stone, strained on pulleys, and mixed mortar to craft this monumental building. What drove them? A vision - the fulfilment of something in which they all consummately believed; something that validated the unrewarded toil; something they believed in fully. They call it Faith. What this achievement confirms is what is possible if people believe strongly enough in what they are doing. If the human soul buys into an idea with a passion, with total commitment, the bounds of what we are collectively capable are quite simply astounding. What would it be like for a company if fifty thousand souls were as single-mindedly driven to do what they did at Chartres? What would AT&T look like? IBM? ABB? Your company? This book argues that it is possible for the corporation to inspire and harness comparable committed, co-ordinated energy. The process is called Reinspiration. Apply it within your corporation and reap the benefits.

How does my company actually work? How do I become a better manager? How can I fit these pieces together to get ahead? The Manager’s Guide to Driving Corporate Value Creation These questions are answered in this book. Mark Scott has created an easy-to-understand visual framework and the practical tools that will enhance any manager’s performance. He teaches you how to recognize what your own organization does well and what it does badly. The tools provided will help you make crucial improvements in your own area of responsibility within your organization. "In a decade where most management books wax lyrical on consulting fads for the boardroom, it focuses on the solid, unglamorous but essential ground of helping managers and employees diagnose performance and take action for themselves." Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive Officer, WPP Group PLC "Effective strategy is something that is lived everyday by managers at the coal face through a continual process of analysis, learning, refinement and application. This book is a useful primer for time-pressed managers who want to know how to add value to their companies’ strategies." Professor John Quelch, Dean, London Business School "Our business is founded on smart, independent thinking professionals helping clients solve complex problems. Any book that can give people better tools to understand these problems is useful. Unlike many I read, this is a useful book." Terence M. Graunke, Chairman, Lighthouse Holdings Inc

The Substance Abuse and Mental Disorders Screening book may be the most important book you will ever buy. This book contains dozens of screening tools for the most common Substance Use Disorders and co-occurring Mental Disorders. The screening tools found inside this book are easy to read and score to determine if a patient has a disorder and how severe it is, if they do. Finally, the scores provided will allow patients, healthcare professionals and others to gauge recovery both before and after various treatment interventions occur.

The Killers Within US are those individuals who are in such pain that they tragically kill others and/or themselves. These individuals often leave a wake of confusion, anger, and hurt among their survivors. This book explores the most common disorder linked to suicide, homicide and several other disorders that kill millions of people annually. A mental disorder known as Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) or its traits frequently influence these individuals in particular to the point of killing. Several BPD traits span thousands of years and are mentioned within the Holy Bible. This book explores the truth about and the origin of BPD and offers both Biblical and Clinical ways to recover from it. God said: 'Let my people go' and 'the Truth will set you free'. This book is full of truth and by applying these truths within it, it is hoped that you too can be set free from the Killers Within you.

"THE ADDICTIONS RECOVERY GUIDEBOOK: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW!" is highly recommended if you, a loved one, a friend, neighbor, co-worker, or someone else you care about is struggling with some type of Addiction. Likewise, it is a must read if you are a health care provider working with patients that are challenged with addictions. This book is one of only a handful of publications that attempt to describe what "causes" the "disease of addiction", and provides some possible means of prevention and recovery. Within this book you will find both general and specific interventions, treatments, and therapies. A brief overview of the most common co-occuring disorders is also explored. Most importantly, a variety of assessment tools have been included that will assist recovery assessment. This book will change the way you view addictions and hopefully educate you and others on how to recover from them.

Job Spec: Construction of Cathedral in Chartres, North West France Dimensions: 34m high, 130m long Materials: 500,000 tonnes of limestone, 176 stained glass windows Style: Gothic Time Frame: 30 years Confronted with this project would you screw it up and bin it? Probably. Why? Because the task is too enormous? Because the goal is too hard to achieve? Because you could not get the people in your organization to buy into the idea? But, wouldn't it be fabulous if you could achieve this, or its equivalent, in your place of business. How then could the construction of Chartres cathedral be achieved? Individuals working on a largely voluntary basis hauled and hammered stone, strained on pulleys, and mixed mortar to craft this monumental building. What drove them? A vision - the fulfilment of something in which they all consummately believed; something that validated the unrewarded toil; something they believed in fully. They call it Faith. What this achievement confirms is what is possible if people believe strongly enough in what they are doing. If the human soul buys into an idea with a passion, with total commitment, the bounds of what we are collectively capable are quite simply astounding. What would it be like for a company if fifty thousand souls were as single-mindedly driven to do what they did at Chartres? What would AT&T look like? IBM? ABB? Your company? This book argues that it is possible for the corporation to inspire and harness comparable committed, co-ordinated energy. The process is called Reinspiration. Apply it within your corporation and reap the benefits.